Al Jazeera America News Late news developments and in-depth reporting on the top stories from around the United States.

March 1, 201411:00 - 12:01am EST

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films playing together theatrically in select cities as part of a special program. please check them out. they cover important and unusual subjects you don't see very often. thanks for watching. have a great night. >> >> in is al jazeera america, i'm jonathan betz, live in new york. >> it is time for the russian intervention in ukraine to end. >> tough talk at the u.n. as ukraine goes on high alert. the security council calls on emergency meeting. >> mass soldiers in the street. russia seizes control of a key region and prepares to send more troops. >> dangerous mudslides threaten homes in southern california - hundreds forced to leave their homes. >> carnivale is under way in brazil. we take you behind the scenes of

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a samba school where they learn how to party. [ ♪ music ] >> there is concern ukraine's crisis could morph into a war with russia. ukraine's russian president says military intervention will lead to conflict. country's soldiers are on high alert. >> russia is in control of crimea. uniformed armed gunmen control the streets. it's a move that has been welcomed. demonstrators rallied in the street supporting the intervention. the parliament approved vladimir putin's request to use military force, prompting a special meeting by the united nations security council. the united states wants the u.n. to deploy observers to the ukraine. president obama had a long phone call with vladimir putin, urging the leader to pull back his

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soldiers. putin insisted he is stabilizing the country and protecting russia's interests. >> jennifer glasse has been following developments from the capital. >> the crimean prime minister asked moscow for help and he's getting it. russia's decision to authorise the use of force came as a surprise to much of the world, in crimea it's welcome news to many. >> reporter: jubilation in the crimean capital, "the russians are coming." as moscow endorsed the use of force, ethnic russians that are the majority took to the streets. like ena and her family, sporting the russian flag. >> translation: they are our protectors. >> there'll be no military clashes, they were there to guarantee safety. beneath the statue of vladimir lenin there are flags.

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the only ukrainian autonomous republic has a russian prime minister, who moved to take control. >> i have decided to temporarily take command of national forces. the interior ministry, armed forces. those that disagree, please resign. >> that scarce the crimean tatar population, many deployed by stalin. >> translation: it's the first time crimians have lived with armed military types driving around the city. the society is full of fear. people are afraid of everyone and everything. >> 400 miles north in kharkiv, they raise the russian flag there. much of the population opposed the take over in kiev. in kiev, former operation

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leader, now presidential candidate vitaly klitschko called for calm. >> translation: i urge everybody - no provocation, no calls for separatism. all who love their country and responsibility have to show patriotism. >> at a military airport a worrying sign of things to come. >> men in camouflage came and damaged ukrainian equipment. one mystery solved, the many in uniform taking over airports and other locations. crimean riot police, intelligence forces, security and officers of the russian black sea fleet. >> there are ethnic you cranians and minority tartars who wonder what russian boots on the ground will mean for their future in what is still, for now, ukraine. >> now, all eyes are on russia

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and its next move. this after the parliament approved sending soldiers to ukraine. phil ittner has more. >> a day after the west and the white house warned russia not to intervene in ukraine this was moscow's next move. >> translation: russian federation council votes to first approve vladimir putin's proposal to use the russian troops on the territory until the social political situation stabilizes. this decree is effective on the day of its adoption. >> it took less than an hour for russia's parliament to debate and vote. authorising force in you crepe, not just crimea. western powers responded. in britain the foreign secretary summoned the ambassador. >> we are concerned about the escalation of tensions in ukraine and the crimea. and about the decision of the

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russian parliament this afternoon to authorise military action in the ukraine without the consent of the ukrainian authorities. in is potentially a grave threat to the independence, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of ukraine. >> the e.u. said it would hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers to discuss a response. the russian decision does not call for military action, but clears it if vladimir putin decides to act. the legal reasoning sitting a number of clauses within agreements within ukraine and russia and the russian constitution. that framework was drawn up after the fall of the soviet union. primarily to protect the naval base at sevastapol. russian public opinion is in favour of supporting the russian efforts against the new government in kiev, seen by many

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as extremists. as a further swipe at the west, after the vote on military options, the parliament urged vladimir putin to recall the russian ambassador to washington. few expected it to happen, but it is an indication that the crimean peninsula is a global matter. >> ukraine's interim president has placed his country's armed forces on full combat alert. security has been stepped up at airports and nuclear sites. interim prime minister said intervention will lead to war. oleksandr turchynov warned forces back to their base, feels shared by others. >> translation: there can be no diplomacy with putin. we can remember the situation with georgia. russia spread information to make georgia the enemy. they stole part of the georgia.

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with vladimir putin there can be no diplomacy. we have no choice but to defend our country. >> the united nations and security council met to discuss this crisis. >> good evening from the united nations on the east side of manhattan, where the security council, a body charged to look after world peace is meeting to discuss the situation. the meeting was called for by the ambassador to the united nations. it was a behind closed door, no conclusion reaching the end of the either meeting. let's begin the coverage by turning to the russian ambassador to the united nations. he cited the february 21st power sharing agreement with the new government, but immediately fell apart as a reason why moscow is concerned for the safety of its citizens inside ukraine. >> the parliament with its new membership, the ukrainian parliament, with the traumatic

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changes, why did it first, off the top, take a - make a decision to take away the language legislation, which says people have the right to use the minority languages not only of russian language, but others. why the first day was that decision taken to take those away. >> what can be done at the united nations to try to sort the situation out. it's a difficult, delicate situation, because the security council has five permanent members, all with vetos, and the russians are one of those members, and they are likely to veto anything that the security council comes up with. secretary-general ban ki-moon issued a statement before speaking to russian president vladimir putin. he said through a spokesperson:

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>> soamantha power is the unambassador and says that moscow should back off and get out of the crimea. >> this is as dangerous as destabilising. we are disturbed by reports of russian military intervention into crimea. this intervention is without legal basis and violates legal commitment to protect the sovereignty and independence of ukraine. >> the story moving away from manhattan to the united nations and europe. there's a meeting of n.a.t.o., because of the trading ties between brussels and moscow, it's hoped that the european union may have an influence, especially crimea, involving russia, than the united nations has been able to do. >> john terrett at the u.n. president obama has been working the phones on ukraine, speaking

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with the russian president. libby casey is in washington and has more on the conversation. >> that phone call between president obama and vladimir putin lasted a whopping 90 minutes. the length, in itself, is significant. the white house said president obama expressed concern over what the white house called russia's clear violation and a breach of international law. all phrases chosen carefully and with intention. the read-out of the phone call says the united states calls on russia to de-escalate tensions. it dose on to say going forward russia's continued violation leads to greater political isolation. the white house is trying to make russia feel like it's alone. to that end president obama spoke with the president of france, also the prime minister. three of them talking about coordinating the meeting at the white house and affirming the

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importance of unity. there is criticism at capitol hill, about how far president obama is willing to go and what threats he wan make. senator -- he can make. the senator had his own concerns. and called on rallying allies: >> senator mccain said that: every moment that america and its allies don't respond sends a signal that vladimir putin can be more aggressive. they are his words. sitting on the sideline can be easier than sitting and deciding what tact to place. the u.s. said it would not be part of the g8.

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what else can it do - sanctions. secretary of state john kerry is a white house official working the phones and spoke with the acting president of ukraine and gave his own stern warning and words for russia. he'll be on the sunday talk shows making the circuit, giving us a sense of what the white house plans to do next. >> the former u.s. ambass tore to the ukraine is worried that -- ambassador to the ukraine is worried there may be an all-out law. >> the resort to arms that the rubans have taken is a pathetic solution to a complicated -- russians have taken is a pathetic solution to a complicated problem. they should talk to each other and sort things out. it seems to me that the

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situation in ukraine demands the close working together of russia and the united states to avert a catastrophic world war. >> ukraine's president accused russia of approach okaying his country, like it did with another former soviet republic. comparisons have been made to the russian, georgia war. the conflict lasting five days and russia won. it begone over two disputed territories, south ossetia. in the year leading up to the conflict both countries accused the other of attacking citizens. georgia made the first move, launching an attack. russia retaliated. five days later the war was over. the result russia controls that

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area. >> for more on putin's response, let's turn to seven fish. a political science professor. first i want to get your thoughts on the comparison. do you feel like russia is following a similar path with the ukraine? >> it's a very different situation. the situation in ukraine is qualitatively different. in georgia there was a qualification from the georgian side. there's no provocation from the ukrainian side. in the georgian case territory to russia occupied and de facto controlled with what was in georgia, was attacked by the georgian government and they tried to take it back. russia retaliated, going south of the territory, mixed it up and retreated a few days later as your correspondent noted. in ukraine there has been no

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provocation, no action on the part of authorities in ukraine or in the crimean part of ukraine against russia. this is a very different situation. >> do you think russia is posturing or preparing to invade ukraine. ? >> that's the big question. we may be prone to think they are posturing. vladimir putin has gone beyond posturing. we are behind that with what russian - movement of russian forces that we know is going on in crimea, and in eastern ukraine, outside crimea itself. it seems like vladimir putin committed to military action. he's gone beyond posturing. >> what happens next, do you think. there's talk of vladimir putin affecting the natural gas supplies to ukraine and other countries. what is next in the playbook,

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possibly. >> you know, messing with gas supply is something he has done before. this is something that everyone would expect him to do under these circumstances, the use of economic leverage. i wouldn't be surprised to see him doing that. in some ways he leapfrogged the mackia very wellian strategy of using economic levers and gone straight to military action. once you have invaded a country, you are beyond stipulating supplies and economic measures to get your way. i would have thought vladimir putin, being a cool, calm character, would play a cautious wait and see attitude, and use the economic levers at its disposals to get its way. he's doing something that is unusual for him right now, which is acting in a way that we can

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characterise as impulsive and completely out of sync with international norms. it's unusual behaviour. >> i want to touch on that point. people feel like putin is calculating and shrewed that knows what he's doing. >> yes, indeed. >> are you saying otherwise? >> no, i say he normally is, if you are a calculating shrewed man who knows what he's doing, may not hike it, but he has a good reputation for conservatism, gradualism, incrementalism for international affairs like in domestic politics. what is interesting is he's not true to form. a putin esque approach involves a lot of waiting and seeing, using what economic levers of power that you have, manipulating the forces who are your people on the ground or over the next months or years

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helping to push things in your own direction. >> why do you think he's not doing that? >> why is he not doing that in this case? >> if he's sending in troops, that's not doing that. this is stumping the community. this is not characteristic behaviour for vladimir putin. there's a number of possible explanations. vladimir putin may feel like the key lies in ukraine, if he loses ukraine, the gambit to become flup shall in the international arena is doomed. that might drive a desperation on his part. one might speculate that the russian economy has been turning down. vladimir putin, in the last couple of years, has been playing to russian nationalism to legitimate his own rule. this could be something of a distraction from problems at home. this said, i think the costs to russia in economic and political

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terms of an invasion of ukraine will be so high that vladimir putin will regret the move if, in fact, he follows through as it looks like he'll do. >> okay. thank you for your time and insight. we appreciate it. >> we are closely following the standoff in ukraine. more on russia's siege at the bottom of the hour and you can get the latest onlinement still ahead on al jazeera america. a bizarre mass stabbing in china, 33 killed, plus... >> i'm stephanie stanton where heavily rain in california are putting the neighbourhood under the threat of mudslides.

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>> a snowboarder who snuck on to a closed trail triggered an av lamp. it was a frantic rescue team.

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100 neighbours and rescue workers searched for an elderly couple and a child. the child han -- had been playing in the yard when the avalanche swept on to the home. >> after months of drought hundreds of homes in california are under evacuation orders for fear of mudslides. stephanie stanton reports from california where the rain is not exactly welcomed. >> i'm here on rainbow drive. it's an amazing area for officials. there's a lot of debris on the street. every time the rain kicked up we saw mud coming down the streets. we start to see debris. residents also doing what they can to protect the property. part of the concern is because 45 years ago, there was a storm with similar positions and that

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storm would have a major mud slide that destroyed several homes. the entire area is under mandatory evacuation orders. 75% of residents were ignoring the orders. >> i was hoping like yesterday that there wasn't anybody. >> having the sandbags and what we witnessed yesterday, i think it will be fine. >> officials urged residents to heed the warnings. >> once the mud flows, they can't get to people to rescue them. that puts people in danger in conditions like this. >> it's so fresh when you see that. they need rain so badly. when it comes it causes all sorts of problems. you'd like the rain to come over a prolonged period of time. we have good news.

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over the last 24 hours is what has been happening is we have one good shower three hours ago, but now we are looking at lighter rain showers. actually, notice how much of this area is now minimised when it - when we talk about rain. we think we'll see the showers continue through the evening and tomorrow. that'll be about it. the worst is really over for this area. we do still have warnings in effect, and watches affecting flooding along the coast. the big ones have been released, but we are looking at a few along the coast. we'll watch this over the next couple of hours. here across parts of the central united states it will be the next storm. the one in california involving towards the central bringing problems in terms of snow and icing and severe weather. first of all the icing is the worst. i want to take you and show you where we'll see the icing across oklahoma and arkansas.

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the problem is it will be rainy, turn to ice. we expect to see half an inch to three-quarters of an inch. it only takes half an inch to bring down the tree limbs, we'll watch the areas very, very carefully. in terms of snow. it will be a big problem across parts of missouri, illinois and as we go towards monday it comes to the east coast. we don't think it will be a major problem towards parts of new york. we think it will be a problem for parts of philadelphia and over to washington d.c. you can see where the deepest blues are, 8-10 inches of snow, starting late evening on sunday, going through most of the day on monday, causing problems on the major highways, i-95 and all of the major international airports. >> not good news. more ahead on al jazeera america, including ukraine and

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russia on the bring of war. the latest on the crisis in crimea. also the 100,000 soccer head butt seen around the world. it could cost the team manager his job. the hollywood stuntman - no ticket to the oscars for him. the fight to change that coming up. ♪

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>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour - russian forces remain in ukraine. they have seized control of crimea. >> president obama and other world leaders are demanding moscow pull back. >> in north-west pakistan funerals were held for security guards killed while they were protecting polio vaccination workers. the first target a vehicle, and did not kill anyone, minutes later a second blast struck first responders, a child and 10 officers were killed. egypt swore in new ministers following the resignation of

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cabinet ministers. abdul fatah al-sisi is the defence minister and plans to run in elections. parliamentary elections are planned for the summer. the crisis in ukraine and events unfolding. russian troops are in control of the south-eastern region. moscow's movements were met with international condemnation. the security council held an emergency session. washington wants to see u.n. observers on the ground. president obama called the russian president to expression concerns. the two leaders spoke for 90 minutes. vladimir putin says russia is concerned about the safety of its citizens and asked lawmakers to give him the green light to protect him. we have more on that. >> reporter: foreign military involvement can be approved. barely three hours after vladimir putin requested parliamentary consent he got it unanimously. 90 senators were present for

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this extraordinary session. all said yes. >> translation: we have to protect crimea. we have to protect those people who are patriotic, who have a normal viewpoint. under no circumstances should we abandon crimea. didn't we realise if crimea is seized the black sea fleet will not be there. >> further worrying developments for international relations. >> we support the proposal to recommend that the president recall the ambassador from the usa. we support him in revoke the ambassador from the empire of lies. >> whether more troops deploy to ukraine and if so how much, depends on vladimir putin, the commander in chief of russia's military. what of the public oopinion. that hinges on what happens in the days to come. many russians are protective towards the ethnic brothers and sisters across the border.

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in ukraine vladimir putin's ratings are sky high after the winter olympics , and successful action in ukraine may send them higher. in kiev the people in maydan worry about where the revolution is taking them and western governments agonize over what to do next. >> we'll follow the event as they unfold. you can get the latest online at aljazeera.com. >> other news to report. china's state media blames a separatist group for a stabbing free. it happened in a southern city kunming. 33 were killed, and 130 others were hurt. a warning to the viewers, this piece contains graphic material. >> as police look for anyone connected with the attack people in china have been coming to terms with the scale and horror of the assault.

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according to eyewitnesss the gang started attacking passengers at random with knives, sending crowds fleeing. thousands of internet users expressed outrage on social media and uploading images of security in the aftermath of the attack. the authorities promised a swift response with the country's president ping saying those responsible will be brought to justice. the attack comes at a sensitive time, in a run-up to the national people's congress gathering in budget. the authorities have been quick to control information about the attack, restriking reporting of the event to the official version issued by the state-run newsagency. >> well, it's already sunday morning in thailand. parts of the country are holding re-run elections.

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voting was instructed. for weeks they've been trying to push out yingluck shinawatra. pro-government demonstrations are growing. zeina khodr reports. >> this was a show of force by the red shirts, and the message to the opposition. they made it clear they for the caretaker prime minister yingluck shinawatra, who is under pressure from the opposition to resign. the result is a deepening political crisis in thailand. here in the north there's no question where loyalties lie. it has been four months since government opponents took to the streets in bangkok. now the red shirts mobilized in their strong hold. >> we want to collect the people. and rally. more from province to province, and maybe, in the end, bangkok.

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>> this is the rural part of thailand, and these people are poor. they are the ones who voted yingluck shinawatra into power in 2011. now they feel the opposition is industrying to prevent them benefitting from state policies. >> for people here, this is a fight to preserve democracy, and they believe holding elections is constitutional. they want to replace yingluck shinawatra's government with a council to reform the political system. >> in bangkok the protesters promised to keep up the anti-government campaign despite a decision to remove roadblocks. they plan to camp out at a park. since the opposition hopes a court investigation would remove the caretaker prime minister from power. >> we can continue occupying bangkok's streets for three or four months, but the government

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doesn't care. they ran away for survival. they don't care how bangkok people are living. >> people here threatened to confront the pressure. some hardliners are talking about creating a volunteer force, similar to an army to protect the government. if they converge, it could lead to a confrontation and more violence. >> in syria fighting between the rebel groups is undermining the wider battle between president bashar al-assad. fighters have reportedly withdrawn from parts of northern syria. they were told it leave or face expulsion by the al qaeda affiliated al nusra front after a rebel commander was killed in a suspected i.s.i.l. attack. the war in syria will be on the agenda when a major israeli lobbying group meets in washington d.c. a topic - negotiations with iran

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over the nuclear program. patty culhane has more. >> when apec hosts their annual meeting in washington, they want attention. with a huge convention hall they are to welcome 14,000 supporters. it's a much-attended event. last year they spent $3 million, not including grass roots effort at the state level. that is it directly trying to influence members of congress and the executive branch. apex members fan out over the capital. they are expected to accomplish what their lobby failed to do, get enough support. it set the terms on any final program. that could expose a weakness for

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apossiblying, which has seen as -- apec, which has seen as aligned with the israeli battle. >> they win the battles when the american jews agree with them, when they are against the people, they lose. syria was a perfect example. >> apec pushed hard to try to get congress to approve military strikes on syria, and failed. in a recent oped the leadership stress the they are not giving up saying it must include a dismantling of the military program. that is not the end goal or the u.s. president. in private, and with a big public display binyamin netanyahu will try to change obama's mind and ensure the base that they are a force to be reckoned with. >> f.i.f.a. announced that it

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will allow the use of rely ijous head ware, including head scarves and turbans. >> the decision came after a 20-month trial where it was established that wearing them does not pose a risk of injury. the soccer federation imposed a ban last year. >> we have more sport and soccer news stories. >> another soccer story making headlines. we are heading across the pond to the english premier league , kids, when they say use your head this is not what they mean. the manager for newcastle alan pardew is about to head butt an opposing player. alan pardew gets in the way of david meyler, and leans in for the head-butt. alan pardew was ejected from the match, a match that newcastle won. the team slapped alan pardew with a $168,000 fine, and alan pardew could face discipline from the league. the new york yankees broadcast

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live at 3am in the morning. for spring gaining, here is the reason why. the yankee debut head and the $155 million japanese import. the 25-year-old tang -- tanaka dazzled. heap received a standing ovation as he left the field. the l.a. dodgers had a rookie player on. jock petersen this year is hoping to do the same. the kid has the skill and confidence thanks to the support of family. >> i'm pretty talented and blessed that i have abilities - i mean, i can hopefully make the game fun to watch. >> jock petersen may not be a household name, but he has the makings of being a star. petersen was drafted by the dodgers in the 11th round of the

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draft and was named the organization's minor league player of the year. petersen delivers in multiple facets of the game. >> i think think everyone has high hopes. it's what we think the guy can do. he's what you want as far as the way the swing is supposed to look. >> i pride myself having skills in all aspects of the game. i work hard at refining them. i can do good for myself. steal a base, drive a ball or make a diving catch. >> petersen's family plays a big role. he draws inspiration from his older brother champ, who has down's syndrome and jock says is a positive influence in his lich. >> he's always there to support us through the good and bad and giving us motivation. he'll send a text, even if it's going good, he'll cheer you up a

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little bit. it's awesome to see somebody always so happy in a good mood for - i mean, someone in his situation. he doesn't feel bad for himself. he loves it, he's smiling. i definitely wouldn't be the person i am or i don't think anyone in my family would. we are special to have him in our lives. >> it's not just helping jock, but his younger brother tiger, drafted by 2013. university of pacific baseball routine, even giving the pre-game motivational speeches. >> jock and tiger give back to champ, coaching him when he competed in the special olympics, and travelling with him when he participates in the best buddies program. he's giving speeches. we are going to different event. he opens you to a whole new

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world. maybe we want to experience it without them. there's so many different aspects of what he brings to the table. it's awesome. >> jock and the petersen family draw inspiration from older brother champ. petersen hit his first home run, so off to a good start. >> target is trying to improve security after hackers stole information from millions of customers. the breach costing $61 million. it could cost the retailer hundreds of millions. >> target wants to make its credit card smarter sooner. shopper chelsea johnson has not used her target card or any credit card since the data breach. we told her about the changes, a microchip and personal id number to make the card transactions secure. >> it's a good improvement. anything they can do to make it

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safer for the customers, the better. >> a lot of customers have been uncomfortable shopping at target, furious. the retailer announced profits plummeting 46% after the data breach. a couple of days before target sent a letter to the red card holders saying it's accelerating $100 million investment to put chip and pin technology in place, with the idea target cards and readers would be safer this time next year. >> we are in the future. things are improving. and for them to put a chip in the card and prevent us being hacked, it's a good idea. >> shopper matthew never noticed the fraud, but says soon after the breach, target closed the red card account and sent him a new card. is all the money spent by retailers and card companies going to eliminate credit card fraud. it will reduce fraud at the

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terminal once people have chip and pin cards and the retailers have xip and pin terminals. >> keith squires opens a company that watches for trends in cyber attacks and protects clients. he says it's likely hackers will find another way, perhaps online. if you shift from the physical card drawed lowering that to -- fraud lowering that to online, then we have spent billions and shifted liability for no real benefit. >> squires says retailers are aware. squires calls it a game of leapfrog between hackers and retailers that won't end soon. >> you've seen it work in major black busters. hollywood stars are

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unrecognized. stunt men and women have dangerous jobs. they don't have an oscar category. they feel they deserve one. >> in 35 years as a hollywood stunt actor and stunt coordinator jack gill has been blown up, beat ip, bowled over and flipped out. but one thing he has never gotten is a nomination for an academy award. >> we feel like we are left out. there's a big hole in the academy and we should be included in it. it should be a no-brainer decision. >> for decades gill and other stunt actors have been lobbying the academy of motion pictures to create an oscar category for stunt coordinator. in a system that awards oscars for make-up, hairdressing, costume design and sound mixing it's a surprise to many fans that there's no spot in the limelight for stunts. >> most viewers know we use stunt people, they are not stupid. lists of movie accidents show more than 40 stunt actors have

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been killed on set since 1980. safety improved, but deadly accidents still happen. in 2011, 26-year-old kun liu, stunt actor, was killed in an exploding boat seen for "expendables 2 ." >> eventually if you have been in long use, you'll be hurt. the academy did not respond to al jazeera's requests for comment, but stunt men like gill will keep pushing for the recognition they feel they deserve. >> put blood, sweat and tears into the movie for a year, and you go to watch the award ceremony and you see your friends cop it and you are sitting at home by yourself. >> this year's ceremony is held march 2nd. one of these years, stunt actors that risk their lives will get a chance to see one of their own accept an award. >> and still ahead on al jazeera

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america. [ ♪ music ] >> it is one of carnivale's best-kept secrets. the moves behind the samba is

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next. >> hundreds of protesters returned to the streets in venezuela. in recent weeks 18 people have been killed in protests over food shortages and high crime. venezuelans and americans near miami are supporting the cause of friends and family back home. >> there has been 33 registered start tours.

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>> over the last 33 weeks this mother and daughter have been monitoring facebook and twitter to stay in contact with family in venezuela. >> there's no water and electricity - there's no way to inform anybody of what is happening. and the government did this op purpose. >> like men expatriots venezuelanans they rely on social media to get news out about what is happening. >> i don't think they knew what was happening. twitter has become basically a life line for people. if i put it on twitter it will get viral and everybody gets to see what is happening. >> they flood the accounts with video clips recorded and sent by family members, so the world can see the clashes between security forces and anti-security forces who want to oust nicolas maduro. >> see them running. >> nicolas maduro was elected president following the death of hugo chavez. it was a tight race.

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the fairness questioned by united states. >> venezuelans grabbed arms and learnt to defend themselves. this will not end well. >> peaceful student demonstrations began two weeks ago. 17 protestors have died, and several hundred have been injured. >> venezuela has been coming down for many years. it has reached to the point that they need to do something. something needs to happen. >> there's 250 venezuelans living in florida. more than in the u.s. mean live here. the venezuelan community is concerned about what is happening in their homeland and are trying their best to help out however they can. south florida volunteers are collecting medical supplies. >> hundreds of patients are coming in. we are acting for medicine, food, medical supply.

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>> on friday florida's governor rick scott and marco rubio met with a large number of opponents and urged sanctions to be improved against venezuela. >> to do what he has the power, and that is to freeze the assets and revoke the travel visas of the government officials in venezuela. >> in the meantime anxiety and sophia will rally peacefully on the internet and in the streets of miami. in solidarity with the families back home. >> mother nature treated star gaysers to a dazzling show. remnants sent the skies ablaze. aurora borealis is typically visible close to the poles. the colours over southern england, some photographers ended up with overexposed

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images. >> it's day two of a five day carnivale demonstration in brazil. the streets are full of revellers. the beauty is obvious. what you don't see there is the story behind the elaborate costuals and dance routines choreographed down to the last move. we go behind the scenes. >> the most important samba schools are practicing their competition. the most important part of the program is a tightly guarded secret. behind closed doors in a gind warehouse each samba school works around the clock to complete the larger than life costumes and floats to be judged in the samba dance. >> we work for 11 months for one

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appearance. we are looking for new things without losing the essence. >> what they are doing is more thon preparing for an 80 minute show. it's like a hollywood or bollywood film. like an open-air opera. >> keeping the details of the fantasies from the competition is essential. the samba school allowed us a glums of the preparations -- glimpse of the preparation, including the costumes. this is one of many secrets. each work combines skill and pride. as demonstrated by maria, who has been making costumes for the last seven years. >> when we are sitting here we see it in little pieces. once you see it together it makes me emotional, feel like crying.

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>> that is the real secret. how it all comes together when up to 4,000 members of each school make their presentation. >> people can come and look and spy, but no one knows how the school will stage the performance. that's the surprise. a surprise lived for. this year is no exception. >> always looks like a lot of fun. a big week of celebrations. thank you for celebrating part of your week with us. that's our joe. stay with us, a quick look at headlines after this very short break.

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you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york with tonight's quick headlines. >> russia is taking control of ukraine's southern region of crimea. uniformed gunmen have been patrolling the streets for days.

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the russian parliament approved vladimir putin's request to use military force. >> president obama speak with vladimir putin, urging him to deal with the situation peacefully and withdraw soldiers from the ukraine. they are calling for u.n. observers to be sent to the region. >> egypt swore in a new minister. abdul fatah al-sisi is still the defence minister and plans to run in elections this year. >> china's state need wra reports knife-wielding attackers killed 29 at a train station in the country's south. four armed assail ants stormed into the station and slashed commuters at random. it was reported it was carried out by a separatist group. >> californians under evacuation orders after mudslides. the rain arrived after months of drought, but the water could not be absorbed dur to the

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wildfires. >> "america tonight" is next, and for updates from anywhere around the world go to aljazeera.com. have a great night and weekend. good evening and thanks for joining us. you're watching "america tonight." the weekend edition. i'm joining. we begin this weekend with the capture of one of america's most wanted man. joaquin